Arco Valley Pearl - One Big Pearl!

Technically, the Pearl-of-Allah, not the Arco Valley Pearl is the largest Natural Pearl in the world. According to Guinness Book of records, The Pearl of Allah, (Pearl of Lao-Tse) was recovered from a giant clam and the San Francisco Gem Laboratory has assessed the value of the pearl to be no less than $40 million. Once again the Pearl of Allah is safely ensconced in a dark place, deep in the bowels of an unknown Denver bank vault.

Having been born from a clam, not a pearl oyster, the jury is still undecided if the 'Pearl of Allah' qualifies as being the largest natural Pearl in the world. Apart from this oyster's clam ancestry, some pearl purists say that the Pearl-of-Allah is more of a clam pearl freak of mother nature than a true pearl.

The Mother-of-all-Pearls, The Arco Pearl, as it is called, weighs 575 carats and the color is a pinkish color with slight yellow overtones and measures an enormous 79 x 41 x 34 mm!

In 2007, a UAE collector claimed he bought the Natural Saltwater Pearl from a french owner for 8M US$ but the Wikipedia tells us it is still owned by a European company (August 2008).

The value of the pearl is based on its size, color, weight, rarity factor, history and previous records, of what people have been prepared to pay for similar precious pearls.

La Peregrina Pearl, another precious Natural pearl, also has a pink hue and of immense historical importance.

The Arco Valley Pearl is the biggest Natural Pearl outside a museum and technically the second biggest pearl in the world.

This famous pearl is believed to have been found in 12th century in Mongolia and was formerly owned by Chinese emperors, Persian kings, the grandson of Genghis Khan and Marco Polo. (www. presstv.ir - 03 May 2007)

Pearl of Allah vs Arco Valley Pearl

This pearl was found by a pearl diver off the Philippine Island of Palawan in 1934 and is housed in a museum in the Philippines.

The Muslim diver who found the pearl said its surface bore the image of a turbaned face, and he named it accordingly, "The-Pearl-of-Allah".

These types of pearls are natural pearls but not considered gem quality pearls. There is no grading system for such pearls, unlike Mikimoto Pearls Cultured Pearls and other types of pearls, that you can read about in great detail in pearl books by Strack.

The Arco Valley pearl, wins the Natural Pearl Oyster Heavy Weight World Championship and remains the natural pearl winner in the history of big pearls.